Bernhard Baker (New Earth)
He was recruited by Donna Troy as part of a team journeying to New Cronos to try and help stop the threat of Alexander Luthor. During this adventure, he formed a mentoring friendship with the newFirestorm, Jason Rusch. He, along with most of the heroes in space, went missing. 52 Animal Man was stranded on a paradise-like planet with fellow heroes Starfire and Adam Strange after the battle. After several weeks, Adam was able to get his spaceship working, and they departed for Earth. Their ship, however, was attacked by Devilance, who they had encountered on the planet and who had pursued them into space. Lobo appeared just in time to destroy Devilance, and after some negotiation, agreed to help them out. During a battle with Lady Styx and her horde, Animal Man was killed by a necrotoxin, which caused its victims to rise again in the service of Lady Styx. Animal Man made Starfire promise not to let him come back as a zombie. At the moment of his death, Ellen, still on Earth, sensed it, and began to cry. Moments after Starfire and Adam Strange left Animal Man in space, he came back to life. The aliens that originally granted his powers stood next to him, saying: "And so it begins." After plucking him out the timestream and repairing his body, they left him in outer space. Animal Man reached out to another life form in order to survive, and claimed the abilities of a group of Sun-Eaters, including a homing sense. He then observed his wife from a wormhole in space, pondering whether to return to Earth, or stay in space, as he saw her with another man and putting her grief behind her. Return Buddy finally returned, describing the marvels of space to his delighted family. Ellen held a party to celebrate his return, but some followers of Lady Styx appeared, bent upon killing the family. They were eliminated by Starfire, who had partially recovered from wounds suffered in space. She delivered Buddy's jacket and then fainted out of surprise when she saw him alive, leaving the family to care for her. | Powers = * Conduit of The Red: Later, Baker learned to draw abilities directly from the "Red", an energy field that connects every animal ever to have lived on Earth. Apparently the Red extends past earth and exists as a universal concept. In 52, Buddy experiences an upgrade that allows him to connect to the Universe's morphogenetic field, providing him unlimited access to all animals in the universe regardless of origin, making him one of the most powerful beings to ever exist. This power also extends to non-animal microogranisms but not to plants, which are part of The Green controlled by Swamp Thing or fungi and molds, which are connected to The Grey. ** : Buddy can mimic any abilities of any animal as a result of his encounter with a crashed alien spacecraft. He does this by either focusing on a specific animal near him, or, as he learned later, by drawing power from the animal kingdom in general (this enables him to even mimic animals that are extinct). The nature of these powers has been described in various ways, including the superficial "alien radiation" explanation of his early appearances, the reconstruction of his body by aliens with "morphogenetic grafts" at the cellular level, and currently, mystical access to a "morphogenetic field" created by all living creatures, also known as "the Red". He does not grow wings to fly as a bird (instead he flies in classic "Superman style"), nor does he form gills to breathe underwater when mimicking a fish, but he has occasionally been known to mimic the actual appearances of animals, such as adopting the claws of a wolverine temporarily. His powers have changed considerably in the New 52, after he was killed and reborn by The Red into a body that takes on the aspects of the animals whose powers he is using at the time. This results in him changing into a chimera-like being. Buddy is also able to tap into more than one animal, e.g. during his second fight with B'wana Beast he channeled the regenerative powers of a salamander and the camouflage of a chameleon; this aspect of his power has been shown more frequently in his New 52 series. Among the "animal powers" Buddy has been known to use are: *** The of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. *** The of a bird. *** The ability of a fish. *** The of an ant. *** The of a pistol shrimp. *** The of a moth. *** The of a snake. *** The of a rhino. *** The of an electric eel. *** The ability of a worm. *** The of a spider. *** The stench of a skunk. *** The color changing of a chameleon. *** The abilities of protozoa. **The level of Buddy's abilities are not proportional to the size of the animal they are drawn from. Hence, drawing the jumping ability from a flea would allow him to cover great distances. However, taking the abilities of a larger animal does not result in diminished power for him. ** : Tapping into the Red, Animal Man can also fire powerful blasts of force or unidentified energy. He can even use the primordial energies to start a new universe. ** : In addition to his mimic abilities, Animal Man can make contact with animals, empathize with, "talk" to and see their thoughts and memories. This ability to transfer his life essence has allowed him to survive even when his body has been killed. ** : Animal Man can, to a lesser degree, control animals by entering their minds. He can also transfer his mind to living animals of any kind, using their bodies as long as he wants to. | Abilities = | Weaknesses = *Buddy can only absorb the ability of another animal for approximately 30 minutes before having to recharge his connection with that creature. , page 13 | Equipment = | Transportation = | Weapons = | Notes = | Trivia = * Writer Grant Morrison has Animal Man frequently break the Fourth Wall, and eventually had Baker meet Morrison. * In the 52 storyline, Buddy tells Adam Strange that his favorite Star Wars film is The Empire Strikes Back. | Recommended = | Wikipedia = Animal Man | Links = }} Category:Cosmic Awareness Category:Forgotten Heroes members Category:Formerly Deceased Category:Justice League Europe members Category:Vegetarians